Sheffield United can make a statement by doing something for the first time in 55 years vs Oxford
Sheffield United will be going in search of three points when they welcome Oxford United to Bramall Lane on Tuesday night.
Sheffield United will be hoping to take advantage of the opportunity to reduce the gap to the Championship play-off places when they face Oxford United at Bramall Lane this evening.
The Blades, who were originally scheduled to face Oxford in S2 on January 4, but saw the game postponed due to a frozen pitch, will cut the gap to the top six to eight points with a victory.
Chris Wilder’s side picked up a respectable point on the road at the weekend, drawing 1-1 with Millwall at The Den, and will now be hoping to secure another home win to add to their points tally.
Ahead of the visit of the relegation-threatened U’s, here are five pre-match talking points:
Trio back in contention
United will be boosted by the returns of Japhet Tanganga, Djibril Soumaré and Patrick Bamford from suspension this evening. Tanganga and Soumaré have missed each of the last three matches after being sent-off in the 1-0 defeat at Charlton Athletic while Bamford missed the trip to Millwall after being sent-off for two bookable offences in the 3-1 win over Ipswich Town.
Both Tanganga, who joined the Blades from Millwall back in August, and Bamford, who has scored five goals in seven games at Bramall Lane this term, are highly likely to come back into the starting XI, but there is less of a guarantee about Soumaré amid the midfield options Wilder has available to him.
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Bamford has been excellent since initially joining the Blades on a short-term deal in November, scoring seven goals in 14 games in all competitions, meaning he is highly likely to spearhead the attack after more than a week since his last appearance.
The former Leeds United man has demonstrated he is perfect for Wilder’s preferred system, proving he is capable of doing a lot more than just scoring goals.
A good opportunity
If United are serious about keeping their play-off ambitions alive, tonight’s game, with respect to Oxford, is a contest they really have got to take maximum points from. A fourth successive home win will see the Blades cut the gap on sixth-placed Wrexham to eight points - a deficit that sounds so much more achievable than 11.
Until it becomes mathematically impossible, United should not give up on a play-off place this term. The table is tightly congested and it looks as though sixth place could go to anybody come the end of the campaign.
However, although United are going up against 23rd-placed Oxford, who will be just as desperate for the points themselves this evening, there is no guarantee they will stroll their way to all three points, just as Wilder warned at his pre-match press conference.
The Blades manager said: They've got good players right the way through, it's Championship football and I don't want us to get hurt and we can if we are complacent and standards aren't high.
“So all the things that underpin our performances, work rate, closing down, pressure, press, first and second balls, forward runs, recovery runs, playing in the right area, doing the right things, being good pros, making good decisions. They've underpinned all those really good performances."
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Oxford can spring a surprise
A quick glance at Oxford’s recent results, particularly their victories, makes Wilder’s warning about refusing to underestimate Matt Bloomfield’s side fully understandable. Although the Kassam Stadium outfit are currently in the relegation places, they have demonstrated they have the ability to hurt teams who underestimate them.
For example, each of Oxford’s last three Championship wins have come against the three clubs who were relegated from the Premier League last season, recording 2-1 wins over Leicester City, Southampton and Ipswich respectively.
The U’s got the better of Leicester in their last away game, winning at the King Power Stadium just over a week ago, and they were fully worthy of the three points. Although Leicester have been one of the biggest underachievers in the division so far this term, a victory at the King Power should not be underestimated.
United’s home form
If United perform in the same way they have at Bramall Lane for the last couple of months or so, they should not have to worry about Oxford turning up and producing a surprise result.
Since the November international break, United have won 16 points from the last 18 on offer at Bramall Lane, winning five and drawing one of their last six home outings, highlighting just how important their home form is going to be in their pursuit of a play-off spot.
One of the most impressive elements of United’s recent home form has been their ability to put teams to the sword, scoring three goals or more on five of their last six league outings in S2. Their 3-1 win over Ipswich in their last home game marked a third successive home league game in which they had scored three goals.
Having shown they have what it takes to take teams to the cleaners on home soil recently, Wilder’s troops, tonight, will be hoping to secure a fourth successive home win while scoring more than two goals in each victory for the first time since 1971 (a run of five).
The Blades beat Oxford 3-0 in their most recent Bramall Lane meeting.
Hjelde could feature
United brought the winter transfer window to an end with a bang on yesterday, clinching three deadline day signings. The loan signing of Kalvin Phillips from Manchester City, confirmed at 7.15pm last night, was the headline addition.
His arrival at Bramall Lane was sandwiched between the arrivals of Leo Hjelde on loan from Sunderland and Joe Rothwell on a permanent deal from Rangers. The latter’s arrival was confirmed 90 minutes after the deadline had passed.
Both Rothwell and Phillips were signed too late for them to be involved this evening, but the deal that has seen Hjelde arrive from Sunderland for the rest of the season was understood to have been finalised before the 12pm cut-off point for him to be involved.